Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Getting Noticed

Getting Noticed: "Getting Noticed
Doctors, accountants, and other professionals need to market their businesses, too. Here's what works

Jordan Lipton, 40, and Elizabeth Perry, 39, loved being doctors. They had 20 years of hospital practice between them, but they wanted to spend more time with patients than the hospital-mandated seven minutes. They even dreamed of making house calls. "

Creativity tied to sexual "success"

- Artists may indeed have a more active love life than most of us -- and part of the reason may be their tendency toward a certain schizophrenia-linked personality trait, a study suggests.

In a survey of 425 British adults, researchers found that serious poets and visual artists generally had more sexual partners than those who were either not artistic or only dabbled in the arts.
Further analysis showed that one personality dimension -- a tendency toward "unusual" thoughts and perceptions -- was related to both creativity and sexual success.
That tendency is also seen in people with schizophrenia. And the findings, according to the study authors, may help explain why schizophrenia -- a mental disorder that often runs in families -- has not been extinguished from the gene pool.

Full storyhttp://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051207/hl_nm/creativity_tied_sexual_success_dc

Saturday, December 03, 2005

winnipegsun.com - Canada News - Size doesn't matter

winnipegsun.com - Canada News - Size doesn't matter

A 22-year-old student, who cannot be identified, claimed his penis is too big to insert into an average vagina without special preparation or it would cause bleeding and scarring.


A urologist brought to court a plastic model that depicted the size of the member at a semi-relaxed state, which measured 8 1/2 inches long and 6 1/2 inches in girth.

Court heard the male and female were close friends and often slept together platonically, but one night he forced her to have sex after a night of partying together at a Barrie pub.

In the end, the judge accepted that the accused is "unusually large" but she noted the female was never questioned on the witness stand about it, nor did she report any physical pain, discomfort or injury.

ouch -he was found quilty

Monday, July 04, 2005

Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Boot camp paying off

Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Boot camp paying off: "Boot camp paying off

Significant gains - and losses - at halfway mark

By Rochelle Squires




If I stopped long enough to peek through strands of rain-drenched hair, I would see the end is near.
But I don't.
That would only distract me from the present moment, however uncomfortable it may be.
In the course of my four-week intensive exercise program, fondly referred to as boot camp, I have learned to bring the body and let the mind follow, or wander, or do whatever it wants to do.
The important thing is to keep moving. "

Friday, May 06, 2005

National Post Democracy at work?

National Post: "NATIONAL POST
Latest News


Conservatives win May 18 showdown
Liberals defiant

Anne Dawson
CanWest News Service


Friday, May 06, 2005



Leader of the Government in the House of Commons Tony Valeri. (CP/Tom Hanson)






OTTAWA - Parliament could be thrown into a constitutional crisis after the Conservatives yesterday won the right to hold a non-confidence vote on May 18, which the Liberals have vowed to ignore if they lose it.
The Speaker of the House of Commons ruled in favour of the Tories yesterday, clearing the way for a vote on a motion that calls on the government to resign -- something the Liberals had vigorously argued against -- which in turn could force a late-June election.
Although the Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois appear to have enough votes between them to win a showdown, such an outcome is far from clear, with recent moves by the Liberals to win the support of Independent and Opposition MPs through offers of plum appointments and money for pet projects.
Despite the Speaker's ruling, Government House leader Tony Valeri said the government will not resign if the opposition wins the vote because it does not consider the non-confidence motion legitimate.
He said it is merely a 'procedural motion' that provides instructions to the finance committee, not the House of Commons.
'This is not a confidence motion at all,' Mr. Valeri said. 'What you have is the House instructing the committee to do something. The committee then needs to do it and then that needs to come back into the House ... to be debated and then voted on. By that time, we could probably be in June,' he said. 'That's the way we're interpreting it.'
However, the Libe"

Thursday, May 05, 2005

Sympatico / MSN Lifestyle : Body & Mind : Overcome Hidden Barriers to Success

Sympatico / MSN Lifestyle : Body & Mind : Overcome Hidden Barriers to Success: "Learn to become more self-aware and deal with issues of low self-esteem with this helpful advice.
Do you find it more difficult than most to reach important decisions? When faced with a problem, are you able to stay reasonably objective or do you internalize the situation? Every individual perceives crises situations differently and thus, handles them differently. People with high self-esteem generally feel confident when faced with unexpected life challenges, while those with lower self-esteem constantly question their ability to cope with them. The good news is that through self-awareness you can work on 'the weaker parts' of yourself and unleash your individual talents and uniqueness in all arenas of your life. "

Sunday, May 01, 2005

positive energy

Yahoo! Canada Mail - respondfeedbacknow@yahoo.ca

The Power of Positive Energy

Nancy Burson

ositive, loving thoughts make us feel optimistic and upbeat. We radiate a positive "energy." Others pick up on this positive energy when we walk into a room, and they start to feel a bit more positive themselves. When we have negative thoughts, we give off a negative energy that not only brings us down but can bring down the mood of a whole group.

You can't hide your true energy -- human beings are very good at picking up on each other's emotions. Fortunately, you can take control of your energy and learn to focus it. Strategies...

IDENTIFY NEGATIVE ENERGY AROUND YOU

You wake up feeling great, but by the afternoon, you're in a terrible mood -- even though nothing bad has happened in the interim. What went wrong? Chances are, you got saddled with someone else's negative energy.

To restore your positive feelings, identify where the negative energy came from. This might not be easy if you didn't notice that your energy had changed until hours later. But if you can find some quiet time to reflect on your day, it's usually possible to pinpoint when and why your energy shifted. Perhaps you had a conversation with someone who was feeling depressed... or you stood in line at the post office with customers who were anxious to be elsewhere. Once you identify the negative energy as belonging to someone else, it's easy to let it go. Just say to yourself, "This isn't mine," and picture it drifting away.

If you know people who are chronically negative, stay alert to your energy when they're around to prevent them from pulling you down.

SEPARATE YOUR PARENTS' ENERGY FROM YOUR OWN

Some people carry around energy their whole lives that belongs to their parents. Though they might come to think of this energy as their own, it really isn't.

Example: Parents who are fearful and anxious tend to raise children who are fearful and anxious.

Parental energy can be too deeply ingrained to dispense with entirely. But it can be put in perspective and identified as belonging to someone else so that it doesn't control our lives.

When you feel your parents' negative energy creeping into your thoughts, stop and tell yourself, "This is not my energy."

AVOID JUDGMENTS

When we strongly disagree with someone, we create negative energy that affects our moods. We also block ourselves off from considering the other person's point of view. Perhaps this person has something of value to say, even if we don't agree with all of his/her opinions.

It's best to avoid judgments. If someone is loudly expressing political beliefs that differ from your own, don't argue or silently seethe. Say, "That's an interesting point of view," and move on.

APOLOGIZE

Few things can change the energy of a relationship faster than an apology. We've all said or done things that we knew were wrong, either by accident or because we were angry and got carried away. If we let the situation evolve into a feud, we've created some of the most negative energy possible. Every time you think of this person, your mood will darken. But if we catch ourselves, apologize and explain what we really mean -- or simply admit we got carried away -- it can turn the relationship completely around and create a very positive energy. Heartfelt apologies are very rare in our culture, so they tend to be valued.

Sunday, April 24, 2005

Yahoo! Canada Mail - laughter is good medicine

Yahoo! Canada Mail - respondfeedbacknow@yahoo.ca

LAUGHTER ADVANTAGE

Laughter can be an effective coping mechanism against short-term stress, as in laughing off workplace hassles, but it can have risks.

Warning: Joking about a serious situation can be counterproductive. You don't want to laugh off risky behavior, such as smoking or reckless driving.

Another use of laughter: Pain relief. Studies have found laughing comparable to progressive relaxation and minor analgesics in reducing stress and pain.

INVITING HUMOR

Here are my guidelines for inviting laughter into your life...

Be social. When you build friendships, you're building laughter. The best way to start yourself laughing is to find someone to laugh with.

Television is only a last resort. And pets, though good for company, fall way short in stimulating laughter.

Seek out groups. The old adage The more the merrier is true. A large crowd laughs more than a small one.

Follow the sound of laughter. Laughter is contagious, so put yourself in situations where you'll catch it.

Say you're at a party and see a group of people laughing. Join that group. Whatever is going on there is likely to elicit laughter and humor in you.

Lower your laughter threshold. We tend to do this automatically in certain situations. If you are with someone who once made you laugh, you expect to repeat the experience. Once you're primed for laughter, even mild humor may seem hysterical. You wouldn't walk into an annual performance review with the boss in the same spirit, however.

Keep funny things around -- photographs, joke books, movies you've enjoyed, etc.... or something that connects you to another person even in his/her absence, such as a funny card he has sent you. Such items can be potent pick-me-ups, so make them readily available for when you need them most.

Think beyond your own laughter. A sense of humor, a trait admired by everyone, refers not to your yuks and titters, but to your ability to give the gift of laughter. Laughter is a gift that is always returned with interest.

Saturday, April 16, 2005

Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Nurses push practitioners

Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Nurses push practitioners: "We are proposing solutions that are valid for under-serviced communities, rural and remote areas ... as well as large urban settings in our country,' said Auffrey. "

Saturday, April 09, 2005

How much should you get paid for online work?

How much do you get paid?

by Jeanette S Cates, PhD
Internet Strategist for Small Business
http://www.YourInternetStrategist.com

=========================================

Every year Parade magazine conducts a survey on how much
people get paid in different professions. It's one of their
most popular issues. One year I even shared in the fun with
a front page feature for our local newspaper to tie in with
Parade's special issue.

When you work for someone else it's easy to figure out how
much you make. They tell you! But when you're self-employed
it's a little harder.

There are complex formulas you can use to calculate how much
to charge for your professional services, for example. And
there are guidelines on when to raise your fees. But that
all assumes you have clients to pay those fees.

What about those of us who sell products online? It takes
time to set up a site and even longer to market it. How can
you calculate what you're getting paid? Sure, you may have
another $100 in your pocket. But if it took you 20 hours to
get that $100 - you might consider a fast food career.

What we really want to know is - what is the Return on
Investment (ROI) on our time? And to do that we first need
to know where our breakeven point is.

Here's a quick way to do the math:

1. Decide on your hourly rate. For example, if you want to
make $100,000 per year, that's about $50 per hour. ($100,000
divided by 2000 work hours - that's 50 weeks x 40 hours.)

2. Calculate the number of hours you plan to invest in
creating and marketing the site. For example, for a recent
affiliate name capture project, I calculated it would take
- 1 hour to create the mini site
- 2 hours to write a special report to go on the site
- 1 hour to write an article to market the site
- 1 hour to write the autoresponder follow-up series
- 1 hour to set up a pay-per-click campaign.
That's a total of 6 hours.

3. Determine the number of units you will need to sell to
cover your hourly costs. For this project I was referring
visitors to an ebook. For each ebook sold through my
affiliate link I earn $15. My "labor" cost to set up the
site was $300 (6 hours x $50), so I need to sell 20 copies
of the ebook in order to break even.

Once I have this information I'm in a position to decide
whether or not to proceed with my project. In order to do
this I ask a series of questions:
- Am I likely to sell that number of copies?
- How long will it take to break even?
- Could I outsource this project and recover my investment
more quickly?
- What else can I sell on the backend to make this more
profitable?
- Is this the fastest and best ROI of all the projects I am
considering?
And the questions could go on.

The bottom line is that many online entrepreneurs work
aimlessly on one project after another, never stopping to
consider the ROI on their investment. You would never do
that with your 401K. Don't do it with your time. Know what
you can reasonably expect to make and how much you're
getting paid to build your Online Success.

---------------------------
Dr. Jeanette Cates is an Internet strategist who works with
independent professionals who are ready to turn their
knowledge and their websites into Gold. Her reputation as a
speaker and trainer has earned her the title of "The
Technology Tamer." Jeanette shares her tips and expertise at

Study says 48 per cent of Canadian adults are overweight, 14.9 per cent obese

Call Jane and Bob and discuss their FBI strategy. FBI is a for profit attempt to help people become lean and healthy using natural remedies.(The Fat Buster Initiative) for spring is about to start . Get ready before the Government steps in and hires annoying fat police to augument the smoke and language police to haress you into action-chuckle . Qj


07/04/2005 5:07:00 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TORONTO (CP) - About 48 per cent of Canadian adults are overweight - and Saskatoon is fat city, according to Statistics Canada figures from 2003.


The Saskatchewan city had the country's highest percentage of obese residents at 18.2 per cent, with 50.3 per cent considered overweight. No. 2 on the chubby chart was Halifax, where 17.9 per cent were classed as obese and 51.6 as overweight. At the other end of the scale, 6.1 per cent of Vancouver citizens were obese and 30.1 per cent were overweight. The West Coast centre not coincidetally also had the distinction of being the city with the most fit and active residents in the country.

Vancouver's closest contender was Toronto, where 11.4 per cent were obese and 40.9 per cent overweight.

The Association for Canadian Studies compiled the government data and found that Western Canadians are more active than their eastern counterparts.

Residents of British Columbia and the North were the most active. New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island had the least active residents.

While physical activity appears to be generally on the rise, rates of obesity have not come down, said the report.

The study used the World Health Organization's definition of obese, which is a person with a Body Mass Index (BMI) score of 30.0 or higher. A BMI above 25.0 is considered overweight.

BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in metres squared.

Men aged 20 to 64 were slightly more likely to be obese than women, with averages of 16 per cent versus 13.9 per cent.

Overall, 14.9 per cent of the country was obese and 48.2 per cent was considered overweight.

On the web: www.acs-aec.ca

Friday, April 08, 2005

Youth suicide remains a problem -- and television may have a lot to do with it

Young lives need hope and encouragement . It is sad that a teen in Brantford took his own life recently- why and what a waste . QJ
Sympatico / MSN - Partner content

Monday, April 04, 2005

What is the GM virus?

MSN Hotmail - Message: "There's a new virus getting passed around that appears to be highly communicable. Those who seem to be at highest risk are politicians. The primary symptom: A delusion that state and federal legislatures are wise parents who must treat the public like children who can't take care of themselves.

It's called GM fever ('GM' for 'government meddling'), and the latest outbreak has occurred in Honolulu, Hawaii.

As everyone knows, there's also an 'obesity epidemic' raging in America, and Hawaii is no exception. Hawaiian statistics show that more than 20 percent of Hawaii's kids are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight.

The solution? Weigh the teachers. "

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Thursday, March 24, 2005

Sympatico / MSN : News : CTV.ca The New IIV Mary?

Sympatico / MSN : News : CTV.ca: "A woman has been charged for allegedly engaging in unprotected sex at a Canadian military base without informing her partner that she was HIV-positive."

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

News | canada.com network

News | canada.com network: "Politicians, car salespeople least admired: poll"

Plus some stupid humour

How do these people survive?


ONE Recently, when I went to McDonald's I saw on the menu that you could have an order of 6, 9 or 12 Chicken McNuggets. I asked for a half dozen nuggets. "We don't have half dozen nuggets," said the teenager at the c ounter. "You don't?" I replied. "We only have six, nine, or twelve," was the reply. "So I can't order a half dozen nuggets, but I can order six?" "That's right." So I shook my head and ordered six McNuggets

TWO I was checking out at the local Wal-Mart with just a few items and the lady behind me put her things on the belt close to mine. I picked up one of those "dividers" that they keep by the cash register and placed it between our things so they wouldn't get mixed. After the girl had scanned all of my items, she picked up the "divider", looking it all over for the bar code so she could scan it. Not finding the ba r code she said to me, "Do you know how much this is?" I said to her "I've changed my mind, I don't think I'll buy that today." She said "OK," and I paid her for the things and left. She had no clue to what had just happened.

THREE A lady at work was seen putting a credit card into her floppy drive and pulling it out very quickly. When I inquired as to what she was doing, she said she was shopping on the Internet and they kept asking for a credit card number, so she was using the ATM "thingy."

FOUR I recently saw a distraught young lady weeping beside her car. "Do you need some help?" I asked. She replied, "I knew I should have replaced the battery to this remote door unlocker. Now I can't get into my car. Do you think they (pointing to a distant convenience store) would have a battery to fit this?" "Hmmm, I dunno. Do you have an alarm, too?" I asked. "No, just this remote thingy," she answered, handing it and the car keys to me. As I took the key and manually unlocked the door, I replied, "Why don't you drive over there and check about the batteries. It's a long walk."

FIVE Several years ago, we had an Intern who was none too swift. One day she was typing and turned to a secretary and said, "I'm almost out of typing paper. What do I do?" "Just use copie r machine paper," the secretary told her. With that, the intern took her last remaining blank piece of paper, put it on the photocopier and proceeded to make five "blank" copies.

SIX I was in a car dealership a while ago, when a large motor home was towed into the garage. The front of the vehicle was in dire need of repair and the whole thing generally looked like an extra in "Twister" I asked the manager what had happened He told me that the driver had set the "cruise control" and then went in the back to make a sandwich.

SEVEN My neighbor works in the operations department in the central office of a large bank. Employees in the field call him when they have problems with their computers. One night he got a call from a woman in one of the branch banks who had this question: "I've got smoke coming from the back of my t erminal. Do you guys have a fire downtown?"

EIGHT Police in Radnor, Pa., interrogated a suspect by placing a metal colander on his head and connecting it with wires to a photocopy machine. The message "He's lying" was placed in the copier, and police pressed the copy button each time they thought the suspect wasn't telling the truth. Believing the "lie detector" was working, the suspect confessed.

NINE A mother calls 911 very worried asking the dispatcher if she needs to take her kid to the emergency room, the kid was eating ants. The dispatcher tells her to give the kid some Benadryl and should be fine, the mother says, I just gave him some ant killer..... Dispatcher: Rush him in to emergency!

Life is tough. It's tougher if you're stupid

Hospital bed shortage for kids only temporary: McGuinty"

Let's 15.6 milion for 9 hospital beds is not a problem for Mcquinty- that's 1.8 million per bed to sove the children can't get health care problem in Ontario. Are there any other alternatives? PR
Hamilton: "

Mental Health: A Magnetic Alternative to Drugs

Sympatico / MSN - Partner contentMove over Prozac; here comes transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). In just five years, this new therapy could be a first line treatment for some types of depression.

At least that's the prediction of Dr. Gary Hasey, director of the TMS laboratory at St. Joseph's Healthcare and associate professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioural neurosciences at McMaster University in Hamilton.

Friday, March 18, 2005

ProActive Rants

ProActive Rants: "the worst turn down I ever got
Match.com: Love is complicated, match is simple. "

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Yahoo! News - Obesity Threatens to Cut U.S. Life Expectancy

Lean and mean is better for your health. In the US

They said Americans may be inadvertently "saving" Social Security by becoming obese, but there will be a heavy price in terms of higher death rates and escalating health care costs.


The United States spends between $70 billion and $100 billion each year to treat health problems linked to obesity.

Yahoo! News - Obesity Threatens to Cut U.S. Life Expectancy

Thursday, March 03, 2005

An apple a day keeps the doctor away

For your better health- use fruit and vegtables
SOME BROCCOLI EACH DAY KEEPS SERIOUS TROUBLES AWAY

The buzzwords several years ago were 'functional foods,' referring to the health benefits derived from certain foods. What a concept -- food as 'medicine.' In particular, entries on the 'food-is-good-for-you' list include apples and cruciferous vegetables -- broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy and kale. According to several new studies (as well as some older ones), these foods are particularly helpful for fighting certain types of cancer.
AN APPLE A DAY
Did you know that apples -- those delicious, versatile, beautiful fruits -- actually are 'natural born cancer cell killers' and more, too? Researchers at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research in Strasbourg exposed cancer cells to apple antioxidants. They found that one type of antioxidant that is prominent in apples, procyanidins, was particularly effective in triggering cancer cell deaths. The French team then did a second-stage study for which they exposed laboratory rats to colon-cancer-causing substances and then fed one of two groups of rats the apple procyanidins for six weeks. The rats that fed on the antioxidant developed half as many precancerous lesions as the group on regular feed.
An earlier cell culture study at Cornell University also demonstrated that apple extract inhibited colon cancer cells, but this study reports that the effectiveness seems to come from not just one, but all antioxidants contained in apples, especially those in the skin. A recent Cornell review of the literature on apple research showed that apples also are protective against several other types of cancer, ' "

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Engendering Female Entrepreneurs

Women with merit and conviction are real entrepreneurs that are a positive force in any business market. Go ladies go- follow your dreams and great instincts.
Engendering Female Entrepreneurs

ProActive Rants -Yet another smoking study - this time by the private sector-chuckle

ProActive Rants: "Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Butt ban kills, hotelier warns
Twisted humour- And the researcers did not get a grant to do this-obviously does not fit the current health agenda. Chuckle Q"

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Winnipeg Sun Editorial: Moment of truth

Winnipeg Sun Editorial: Moment of truth: "Moment of truth
Prime Minister Paul Martin and Finance Minister Ralph Goodale should be tip-toeing through this week's federal budget minefield. After all, today's budget will be the first introduced by a minority government since 1979, when opposition parties brought down Prime Minister Joe Clark's government after his finance minister, John Crosbie, pushed for an 18-cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline.
Now Martin and Goodale face their own moment of truth.
We know from their track record that Liberals high-handedly dispute the assertion we Canadians are notoriously overtaxed. But the backbreaking burden we shoulder from taxes is not a conservative fantasy. Toronto-Dominion Bank's chief economist, Don Drummond, released a report last month showing living standards of the average Canadian have hardly risen in 15 years.
Drummond's study showed that between 1989 and 2004 the average after-tax, take-home pay of Canadians rose by only 3.6% while in the U.S., the increase was about 20%.
Conservative Finance Critic Monte Solberg, in appealing to Goodale to lower taxes for Canadians in today's budget, noted in the same 15-year period, Canadian productivity increased by almost 22%.
We are working harder, our industries are more efficient, but none of us are getting the rewards we deserve. This is unfair and wrong.
Both Martin and Goodale have repeatedly said lower taxes are not on the agenda, yet the Tories insist the government lighten our tax load.
There should be a budget showdown if it doesn't include a tax cut. "

Should Canada Permit More Private Health Care?

An economic review of countries that allow private hospitals and insurance systems

Guest Speaker: Dr. Philippe Cyrenne, Professor of Economics, University of Winnipeg

The Canadian healthcare system differs in one important respect from other major democracies that offer universal access and public financing. Delivery and financial systems in those countries integrate private-sector involvement on a much larger scale. Dr. Cyrenne’s recent book considers whether hospital services in Canada should be privatized to the same degree as physician services and assesses the success of countries that have moved further along that path. He also considers how the use of parallel private insurance coverage affects waiting times and service quality in public systems.

Is this a way to reduce waiting lines and improve service? We will keep you posted.

Sunday, February 20, 2005

CANOE -- CNEWS - Weird News: Caretakers sue boss for forcing them to bare breasts for Koko the gorilla

Talk about dignity-wow- and it was a female ape -chuckle
CANOE -- CNEWS - Weird News: Caretakers sue boss for forcing them to bare breasts for Koko the gorilla

Health Secrets of taking charge

Useful information in taking charge of your health Need more information e-mail us at mailto: respondfeedbacknow@yahoo.ca -QJ

Bottom Line/Health Secrets: "Healthcare for Less
How to Cut Costs of Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes and Other Chronic Conditions

David Nganele, PhD
Solutions to Healthcare

Chronic disease can be financially devastating even for someone who has health insurance. Benefit limits often are reached before the condition is under control.
People without insurance may be forced to borrow money or sell assets when faced with such conditions as recurring cancers, heart disease, depression and diabetes.
Making lifestyle changes -- quitting smoking, improving your diet and exercising --can reduce the need for medication for many conditions. In addition, sufferers can eliminate some costs entirely by understanding how hospitals, drug companies and doctors do business. Most effective cost-saving strategies...
At-Home Care
Become an expert. Learning all you can about your illness may help you discover lower-cost treatments and aspects of the condition that even your doctor may not know about. You'll also benefit psychologically from putting yourself in charge instead of relying solely on your doctor.

Contact associations specializing in your condition. They can help you to locate low-cost treatment centers and suggest ways to prevent your condition from worsening. Example: Adding supplemental chromium, magnesium and vanadium to your diet may help with diabetes.

Investigate alternative treatments, such as acupuncture and biofeedback. Many now are covered by insurance. Even if they're not, they may cost less and be more effective than conventional treatments. For information, contact the federal government's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at 888-644-6226, www.nccam.nih.gov.


Buy drugs in large quantities to save on copayments. Most insurers charge a copayment for each prescription, regardless of the drug's cost. Copayments today can be as high as $50.

Ask your doctor to write 90-day prescriptions, instead of 30-day. You will reduce your copayment by two-thirds.

Ask your doctors for free samples.
Take part in a clinical trial.
Hospital-Based care

When you are hospitalized, put your primary-care physician in charge. Doctors who are unfamiliar with your health history might recommend costly, unnecessary procedures.

Primary physicians, as a rule, recommend fewer procedures than other doctors at a hospital. Your primary doctor already is familiar with your condition and may have tried a variety of treatments for you in the past.

You even might ask your primary physician to help check your hospital bill for inaccuracies. As a patient with a chronic illness, you need to be vigilant about not reaching insurance policy limits sooner than necessary.

Consider treatment at a teaching or government-run hospital or clinic. These institutions usually charge patients according to their ability to pay. They can make sense for people with limited incomes, especially those who lack insurance or have passed their insurance limit. Information: Health Resources and Services Administration, 800-400-2742. www.hrsa.gov.


Negotiate with the hospital and other providers. Pay what you can now, and work out a payment plan for the rest. Or ask for a fee reduction. A hospital or doctor nearly always will compromise because reducing the bill may be cheaper than paying a collection agency or not collecting at all.


Get the opinion of more than one doctor before any procedure. Second opinions increase your chance of finding less expensive --and perhaps more effective --treatment.

Saturday, February 19, 2005

You’re NOT Getting The Whole Story On Hysterectomies

WOMEN’S HEALTH ALERT!

You’re NOT Getting The Whole Story On Hysterectomies...

6 out of 10 doctors fail to tell women they have less invasive alternatives—according to a new study. Are you being deliberately left in the dark?

When your doctor recommends a hysterectomy, are you sure you’re being offered every surgical option? The answer may be an alarming "no"—according to a recent study.

Approximately 600,000 hysterectomies are performed every year in the United States. It’s second only to Caesarean deliveries as the most frequently performed major abdominal surgery for women. And a recent survey of gynecologists revealed that at least 6 out 10 doctors failed to inform their patients that they could undergo a less invasive form of hysterectomy that would NOT involve the removal of the cervix.

This could be an important factor in preserving a woman’s urinary, bowel and sexual activity—functions often damaged by a total hysterectomy. This lesser surgery also has a faster recovery time and involves a shorter stay in the hospital. For the full, eye-opening story, see page 324.

Don’t you deserve to know about all your healing choices? Of course, you do.
Contact us to shed some light on this at the Health Gain Forum or Q-Jumpers.

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Drug company should provide free service?

Hamilton: "Drug companies treating Fabry patients unfairly: Ont. health minister

Greg Bonnell
Canadian Press


Thursday, February 17, 2005"